Page 35 of Silk Shadow

"Sure, I can tap into the satellite for you. Those coordinates you supplied will help. Give me an hour and I'll call you back. Can I reach you on this number?"

"Yep. Thanks."

Viper went back to the hotel room to try to get some shut-eye, but everything reminded him of Izzy. Not even sure why, he walked into her room. There was that black dress lying on the bed. The room smelled of her perfume. He could almost see her parading around in front of him.

Fuck. How could he let this happen?

Going back to his room, he lay down on the bed and forced his exhausted brain to think. Who were the golfers? Were they the kidnappers? There'd been four of them. Four masked men on the yacht. They hadn’t looked Mexican, although that didn’t necessarily mean they weren’t affiliated with the cartels. If they were a hit squad, they might be freelance.

He must have fallen asleep because he woke up to a hammering on the door. It felt like mere seconds had passed. A voice called out, "Viper, it's Phoenix."

He sprung up and opened the door. "Sorry. Didn't get much sleep last night."

They shook hands. Phoenix thumped him on the shoulder. "Good to see you again, buddy. It's been a while."

Viper stood back to let him into the room. "Yeah, last time I saw you we were heading down that mountain peak in Colorado in the pitch dark, struggling against a fifty-mile-per-hour gale-force wind with icy rain pelting us."

Phoenix laughed. "I heard you made it through."

"Piece of cake," retorted Viper, which made Phoenix laugh all the louder.

Phoenix hadn't changed. He was still ridiculously good-looking, fit, and well-dressed. Not a rough-around-the-edges bruiser like himself.

"I heard you got married," Viper said, as Phoenix dumped his backpack on the floor. "Congrats."

"Thanks, I still can't believe she said yes." His eyes crinkled. "And now you're working for Blackthorn Security. Small world."

"Yep."

Phoenix studied him. "Pat is pretty picky. But then I heard you did good things out in Colombia a few months back."

Viper grimaced. His shoulder still ached, even though he’d completely healed up. The wounds in his side and thigh didn’t bother him as much. He didn't like to talk about Colombia. He hadn't done anything monumental. Sure, he'd helped a few civilians escape when an out-of-town resort had been overrun with guerrillas, but any member of his unit would have done the same thing. It was what they were trained to do, after all. He’d just been in the right place at the wrong time.

"It might be the shortest-lived assignment in history."

"Nah, we'll get her back. Bad luck what happened, though. Wasn’t your fault."

Viper ground his jaw. “I shouldn't have let her go anywhere near that goddamned yacht. I had a bad feeling about it right from the get-go.”

"Why don't you get me up to speed?" Phoenix sat down at the table. "Then we can decide on a plan of action."

Viper briefed him about the party aboard the yacht, mentioning Robert and Casper, as well as Emily and her four golfing buddies.

"You think it could be them?" Phoenix asked, getting straight to the point.

"Maybe. Emily admitted she told them about the party. Four of them. Four kidnappers—all armed with AKs, Kevlar vests, the works. These guys were pros."

"Mercs?" Phoenix asked.

Viper nodded. "Without a doubt."

Phoenix nodded. "How'd you get on with Ray, the geologist?"

"I'm expecting a call anytime now," he said, checking his phone. There were no missed calls. "Also, I've asked hotel housekeeping not to clean the golfers' rooms, just in case the cops want to send forensics up there."

"Good thinking," said Phoenix. "The FBI is sending a team to take over the investigation. They’ll definitely want to hear about the golfers."

Pat had been busy.